163: Chapter 163 Will you like those?

The red hard pack, eighteen yuan; he remembered it to this day.

Later, when he had money, he tried others, but it always felt like it wasn't the same taste.

It wasn't that Ligun was so good, it was just that he couldn't forget it.

It was like a habit carved into his bones, having nothing to do with how much money he had.

He didn't smoke often, just occasionally, like now, when waiting for someone, zoning out, thinking about nothing.

Sunlight streamed through the windshield, landing on the steering wheel and on the fingers holding his cigarette.

Just then, his phone vibrated.

Wang Yang picked it up and saw it was a WeChat message from Zhao Yaqin.

He tapped it open; there were several messages.

The first was a picture.

The scene was a rural landscape, distant mountains faint, and a few blue-brick houses nearby.

Cured meat and corn were drying in the courtyard, and the sunlight shone brightly on the concrete floor.

It was clearly the courtyard of her hometown.

The second was also a picture.

A selfie of Zhao Yaqin.

She was wearing a date-red cotton jacket, her hair tied up, no makeup on her face, but her skin was fair and translucent, glowing faintly in the sunlight.

She was smiling at the camera, her eyebrows curved, the corners of her mouth turned up; she looked incredibly healthy and vibrant.

The sunlight fell on her face, making it look even younger.

Who could tell she was forty-two?

Some would even believe her if she said she was twenty.

The third was another picture.

Holding a pancake in her hand, round and golden, the surface fried until crispy, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and bitten into.

The filling inside was visible, looking like preserved vegetables, and it was still steaming.

It looked delicious.

Followed by several voice and text messages.

Wang Yang tapped on the voice message, and Zhao Yaqin's voice came from the phone.

Soft, with a local accent and a smile.

"Little Yang, look at the pancake I made, does it look good?"

"I learned it from my mom this morning. It's my first time making it, a bit burnt, but the taste is okay."

"You try it. It's a pity you can't taste it."

Wang Yang's lips curled up, and he typed a reply.

"It looks good. You look even better."

Zhao Yaqin quickly sent back a voice message, her voice tinged with playfulness.

"You only know how to sweet-talk me."

Wang Yang laughed and continued typing.

"I'm not sweet-talking you. It's true. The pancake looks good, and you look good too. I want to eat both."

Zhao Yaqin sent a shy emoji.

Then she sent another voice message, her voice soft, with a hint of coquetry.

"Little Yang, I miss you."

Wang Yang's heart softened.

He flicked the cigarette ash and typed.

"I miss you too. I want to hold you, I want to kiss you."

Zhao Yaqin sent a string of ellipses.

The smile on Wang Yang's lips deepened, and he typed another line.

"I also want to have intimate communication with you. It's been a long time, I really miss it."

Zhao Yaqin was silent for several seconds on the other end, then sent a punching emoji, followed by a line of text.

"You, you're indecent."

Wang Yang laughed out loud, imagining her blushing while holding the phone.

At forty-two, she was still as shy as a young girl.

He typed.

"How is that indecent? I'm speaking the truth."

Zhao Yaqin returned a shy emoji, followed by a voice message.

She lowered her voice, as if afraid of being heard by her family.

"When you come back, I, I will keep you company properly."

Wang Yang's eyes lit up.

"How will you keep me company?"

Zhao Yaqin was silent again, and after several seconds, she replied, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.

"Whatever way you want, I'll keep you company."

Wang Yang leaned back in his seat, the smile on his lips impossible to suppress.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the car door's ashtray.

Just as he was about to tease her a bit more, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the rearview mirror.

Luo Shiyun walked out of the side door of the Shopping Mall, walking fast, head down, heading this way.

Wang Yang sent the last message to Zhao Yaqin.

"Sister Yaqin, I have something to take care of here. Let's talk later. Miss you."

Zhao Yaqin replied with the word "Okay," plus a kissing emoji.

Wang Yang put down his phone and pushed the car door open to get out.

Luo Shiyun walked to the car, her face flushed, her complexion much better than before.

But the blush on her face was different from before; it was like she was hot from running, or perhaps something else.

She was carrying a small bag in her hand, pink, with the logo of a lingerie brand printed on it.

Two English letters were intertwined, designed very delicately.

Wang Yang's gaze lingered on the bag for a moment.

"What did you buy?"

Luo Shiyun's face turned red instantly, from her cheeks to her ears, from her ears to her neck.

As if something had been triggered, her whole body seemed to burn up.

She hid the bag behind her back, her fingers gripping the handles tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"No, nothing. Just, just a camisole."

Luo Shiyun's voice was a bit flustered, her eyes drifting, not daring to look at him, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

Wang Yang looked at her, his lips slowly curling up.

"A camisole?"

He knew that shop; when he passed by, what was displayed in the window wasn't just camisoles.

Lace, sheer, straps, and a few styles he hadn't even dared to look at closely.

However, he didn't expose her, just smiled.

"Get in the car."

Luo Shiyun breathed a sigh of relief, opened the car door, and sat in the passenger seat.

She shoved the small pink bag into her purse and zipped it up tight.

Then she hugged the bag to her chest, as if she were holding some incredible secret.

Wang Yang sat in the driver's seat and started the car.

The black X5M slowly drove out of the parking lot and merged into the afternoon traffic.

Sunlight shone in through the car window, falling on Luo Shiyun's face.

Her face was still red, the corners of her mouth turned up, and her fingers were gently rubbing the zipper of her bag.

She didn't know what she was thinking about.

Her mind was full of the scene of picking out clothes in the shop just now.

When she tried it on, she stood in front of the mirror, blushing so much she didn't dare look at herself.

The Shop Clerk was beside her, praising her good figure, saying she would definitely look good in it, and her boyfriend would definitely like it.

She didn't dare to answer, just nodded with a red face and let the Shop Clerk pack it up.

Now that piece of clothing was stuffed at the very bottom of her bag, separated by the bag, separated by the purse, and she still felt it was burning hot.

"Would he like it?"

"And the others..."

Thinking of this, Luo Shiyun secretly glanced at Wang Yang.

He was holding the steering wheel with one hand, and the other hand reached over to hold her hand.

Luo Shiyun's hand trembled slightly in his palm, then slowly relaxed, letting him hold it.

Neither of them spoke.

...

The scene shifted.

Yuntian City Public Security Bureau, detention room.

The iron door was tightly closed, and the lights in the corridor were pale, shining on the concrete floor, cold and icy.

"Zhang Mingde, you'll be able to leave here soon."

A Public Security Station officer was beside him, speaking to him with a meaningful look.

Zhang Mingde was sitting on an iron chair, legs crossed, a cigarette in his mouth.

His face was still swollen, and the Band-Aid on the bridge of his nose had been replaced with a new one.

The wound at the corner of his mouth had scabbed over, but he was still in good spirits.

He exhaled a puff of smoke, and the smoke dissipated under the pale light.

"I told you. I wouldn't be locked up for many days."

He muttered to himself, a triumphant smile on his lips.